May 2013 NPD: Injustice Reigns Again, This Time Over Weakest Month Since May 2000

The May 2013 NPD report on United States retail video game sales has been released, and the news is not good for the video game industry. Injustice sits atop the charts for the second month in a row, but it presides over a much weaker month than its debut period.

Total video game sales saw a 25 percent decline year-over-year from $517 million in May 2012 to $386.3 million in 2013. This includes $96 million in hardware (down 31 percent from May 2012), $175.1 million in new software (retail only; down 31 percent from May 2012), and $115.3 million in accessories (down 6 percent from May 2012).

The latter category was buoyed by Skylanders sales, which are up fifty percent in terms of units and nearly 60 percent with regard to expenditures. As a reminder, the NPD does track digital units sold. During earnings calls for EA and Activision last month, the publishers both shared impressive statistics on digital sales.

According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, this is the worst month since May 2000.

I can't/won't publish any data from the NPD, but found it interesting that software sales for console/handheld were lowest since May 2000

In terms of hardware, the 3DS continues to be a powerhouse for Nintendo. Sales were flat in comparison to last May, but more of the handheld were moved than Microsoft's Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 did cling to the top console spot for the twenty-ninth month, though. The 3DS was also represented well in this month's best selling software list, holding three of the ten spots.

The NPD's Liam Callahan also notes that new releases were down sharply from last May. Sales of new games were extremely weak, with 70 percent fewer units moved per new title and 80 percent lower revenue for each. One interesting note is that sales of point and subscription cards set records for both units and cash expenditures. This is possibly driven by significant sales happening on digital platforms.

it's sad but people tend to buy what is cool and right now super heros and cod is what is cool sometimes i feel like im the only one who still takes a chance and buys a game that offer something new and orginal when it comes to people i know that is

There is a decline because of the anticipation of what next year will come, not because things are getting worse. This is a good indicator that people are willing to wait for next generation to spend their money.

Could be due to the fact people are now saving money for the PS4 and must be remembered that money is tighter now more than ever. as well as first year since PS2 and Xbox premiered that Sony and microsoft debuted their systems for the same year kind of make PS3 seem obsolete. Xbox 360 I am not so sure though..

of course sales would dip without anything worthy of a purchase. what decent games came out so far, what Metro Last Light and Remember Me? All the great games and next gen consoles comes out later in the year.

This further adds to my theory that this next generation will be weaker than the last in terms of overall sales. The casual gamers that added so much to the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 because of the Wiimote, Kinect, and Move are not here anymore--and it's possible they aren't likely to return anytime soon.

Consumers are simply moving away from console gaming.

The other element to this, however, is the obvious one--we're transitioning into a new generation. But with sales of actual games and hardware this low, its pretty clear that many who were gamers a few years ago gaming here now.